The Colombian Navy intercepted an unmanned semi-submersible submarine on Tuesday 60 nautical miles from the mouth of the Naya river that flows into the Pacific Ocean. The vessel is believed to have been intended for drug smuggling purposes, Colombia Reports informed.
Navy Commander Carlos Delgado said that the submarine features 18 meters in length, three meters in width and two propelling motors made of fiberglas, having capacity to “reach the Mexican coast without refueling, and has a fuel capacity of around eight days”. The vessel can accommodate three or four crew members.
“Well, we are talking about a submersible that has a capacity to carry about four or five tons of cocaine chloridate, the price of which in the U.S. coasts per kilo is in the range of 25,000- 30,000 dollars, so we are talking about a considerable amount of money,” NTD tv cited Mr. Delgado as saying.
Accordingly, if the submarine hadn’t been prevented from reaching its destination, it would have been loaded with a shipment of drugs, presumably cocaine, its endpoint being Central America.
Utilization of what is estimated to be USD 500,000 to 700,000 worth vessel is one of the manners in which Colombian drug traffickers smuggle cocaine before it ends up on the US streets.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, January 14, 2013